Watermelon

Patiently waiting outside The Taco Lady restaurant, Philip Dinga was running on basically an empty stomach heading into the Fourth of July weekend watermelon-eating contest. For the senior defensive tackle from Lake Worth High School, having a piece of cupcake and some orange juice the day of the event doesn't live up to his nutritious diet. "I didn't eat at all yesterday," said Dinga, who was competing in the adult portion of the show on July 3. "I love watermelon. I grew up with it. " Dinga proved to be the best of the best when it came time to chowing down on the watermelon during Jo Englesson's sponsored event.

Summer fruit is in abundance and available everywhere from grocery stores, to farmers markets, to Costco and even local street sales. I can't get enough of the season's best watermelon, tomatoes, peaches, cherries and more. I came up with a few new recipes that include great, fresh summer fruits; frozen fruit just won't do the trick. Tomato Peach Panzanella Salad Serves 8 Salad: •7 vine ripe tomatoes, cut in chunks •3 Persian cucumbers, sliced thick •2 peaches, chopped in chunks •1/2 c fresh basil, washed and cut in thin strips (chiffonade)

Watermelon and goat cheese spears This refreshing summer nibble can easily be assembled in advance. Store refrigerated in an airtight container covered with a damp paper towel. Drizzle with oil and vinegar just before serving. This would also make a great salad course for a lunch or dinner party. Baby romaine leaves or butter leaf cups can be used in place of endive. If you don't like arugula, try frisee, baby spinach, watercress or sprouts. Fresh or dried fruits and a variety of cheeses are delicious combinations here, try fig and Parmigiano-Reggiano, dates and blue cheese or apricots with feta or goat cheese.

Watermelon is a great cooler this time of year. And it's easy to turn one into a conversation piece with a few well-placed knife strokes. We liked the idea of a watermelon dinosaur created by the National Watermelon Promotion Board and decided to try it for ourselves. It took about 20 minutes to re-create the adorable dinosaur. The biggest tip we can give you is to have the watermelon at room temperature for easy cutting. You can stabilize it as you work by placing it in a large baking dish such as the 9-by-13-inch one we used.

He's known as "Furious Pete" and on Sunday, no watermelon will be safe. Pete Czerwinski, a competitive eater, is the featured attraction in a watermelon-eating contest at Mardi Gras Casino Sunday. "It's all about capacity," he said. "Because it's so dense with fluid. It can fill you up quickly." He estimates he can knock down at least a pound of watermelon per minute. Czerwinski, 24, has won 18 eating competitions since discovering his talent in 2007. Diagnosed as an anerexic in 2002, he has since recovered and makes appearances to help explain anorexia.

I don't think certain foods should be messed with or combined with other ingredients. One of those is watermelon. Watermelon is low in calories, fat and sodium as well as being cholesterol free. There is also a good quantity of vitamin C, A and beta carotene in watermelon, not to mention guy-friendly lycopene. For 50 years, I've eaten watermelon out of hand and that's it. I indulge heavily during the summer months even though watermelon is now available year-round. I've seen designer melons come and go. I've had yellow watermelon, seedless melon and many others cut into a wedge, eaten outside on the lawn or over my kitchen sink because I don't want to mess up my shirt or the kitchen floor.

Watermelon and goat cheese spears This refreshing summer nibble can easily be assembled in advance. Store refrigerated in an airtight container covered with a damp paper towel. Drizzle with oil and vinegar just before serving. This would also make a great salad course for a lunch or dinner party. Baby romaine leaves or butter leaf cups can be used in place of endive. If you don't like arugula, try frisee, baby spinach, watercress or sprouts. Fresh or dried fruits and a variety of cheeses are delicious combinations here, try fig and Parmigiano-Reggiano, dates and blue cheese or apricots with feta or goat cheese.

"He shoulda quit after He made the watermelon. " That's Herb talking. Herb's an old friend, so I usually put up with his rant with a smile and add, "Yeah, you're right. " "If he had quit with watermelons there'd be no Flood, no Holocaust, no WWI, no WWII......must I continue?" Herb was referring to our Creator and his creations. And my friend hastened to add that our Creator should have stifled his creative impulses before he got to the Anopheles mosquito, hundreds of varieties of death-dealing bacteria, all animals with teeth.

About 85 children celebrated their graduation Friday from Boca Raton 's Junior Lifeguard program with games and a certificate ceremony. The five-week program, organized and led by the city's Ocean Rescue staff, teaches ages 10 to 17 basic rescue techniques, lifeguard skills and first aid, said Matt Beck, Junior Lifeguard program coordinator. "We go over rescue techniques, beach awareness, how to navigate rip currents, hand signals," he said. "It gets into communication, teamwork and leadership.

He should have stopped on the third day of creation after he had designed and then fabricated the first fig tree. I'm talking about the Creator. As we say on Passover — Dayenu — It is sufficient. Well, maybe another day of work to pleasure the world with the watermelon — another glorious creation. Beautiful, nutritional, symmetrical, voluptuous — a blessing for mankind. If only he had stopped there. No wolves, hyenas, diphtheria, bacilli, sour apple trees, or man. Watermelon, the perfect edible creation.

Patiently waiting outside The Taco Lady restaurant, Philip Dinga was running on basically an empty stomach heading into the Fourth of July weekend watermelon-eating contest. For the senior defensive tackle from Lake Worth High School, having a piece of cupcake and some orange juice the day of the event doesn't live up to his nutritious diet. "I didn't eat at all yesterday," said Dinga, who was competing in the adult portion of the show on July 3. "I love watermelon. I grew up with it. " Dinga proved to be the best of the best when it came time to chowing down on the watermelon during Jo Englesson's sponsored event.

Here's a little advice before you slice Like relationships, watermelons offer no guarantees. But a little wisdom from the experts can help you choose a good one at the store. First, find a melon that's dull, not shiny, and uniform in shape. Odd bumps and curves can mean it was grown with irregular runs of water or sun. Then look for a creamy patch. It's called the field spot — the place where the watermelon rested on the ground. The deeper in color, the longer the fully grown melon was on the vine getting sweet.

Every year we have a summer neighborhood party, and every year someone brings a watermelon. Some years it rains, some years it's clear. The guest list changes, but the watermelon always shows up, welcome or not. This year, looking at the sugar baby sitting on the counter, I decided to give it a second chance. The melon could be sliced and placed on the buffet as always, but there had to be more to do with it than that. After all, watermelon has vitamins C, A, B6 and thiamine as well as an excellent source of lycopene, which is an antioxidant.

How to choose Look it over Choose a firm, symmetrical watermelon that is free of bruises, cuts and dents. Lift it up The watermelon should feel heavy for its size because it is 92 percent water. Turn it over On the underside of the watermelon, there should be a creamy yellow spot (called the ground spot), where it sat on the ground and ripened in the sun. —National Watermelon Board